Hippo Pathway Could be Tapped for More Effective Cancer Treatments

A new pathway, which plays an important role in ensuring that the organs grow to a size that fits the body, could be targeted for treating cancer, researchers at University of British Columbia reveal.

Hippo Pathway Could be Tapped for More Effective Cancer Treatments

"Mammals display a huge range in size from the largest blue whale to the tiniest fruit bat," says Colby Zaph, assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Biomedical Research Centre, who co-authored the study published in Developmental Cell.

"So why don't we have miniature whales or gigantic bats? It turns out that there are specific pathways that tell cells when to grow and when to stop."

One of those pathways is called the Hippo pathway - a key control in how our organs are perfectly suited to our bodies, despite differences in size. Zaph, along with postdoctoral research fellow Menno Oudhoff, uncovered that size differences could be manipulated after a specific chemical modification called methylation dramatically affected its function.

Using mice genetically lacking an enzyme called Set7, the results show that methylation of a protein called Yap is critical for the function of the Hippo pathway. Loss of the Set7 enzyme resulted in cell growth and larger organs.

"It's too early to tell how successful modifying this pathway could be in terms of helping with treatment of cancer. But based on our results, drugs that may activate the Set7 enzyme - to stop cell growth - may be invaluable to fighting cancers with Hippo pathway mutations" says Zaph.

The pathway has gone relatively unchanged despite evolution and could play a crucial role in regenerative medicine, including in skin growth and liver regeneration.

Your comments are automatically posted once they are submitted. All comments are however constantly reviewed for spam and irrelevant material (such as product or personal advertisements, email addresses, telephone numbers and website address). Such insertions do not conform to our policy and 'Terms of Use' and are either deleted or edited and republished.Please keep your comments brief and relevant.This section may also have questions seeking help. If you have the information you are welcome to respond, but please ensure that the information so provided is genuine and not misleading.

Disclaimer - All information and content on this site are for information and educational purposes only. The information should not be used for either diagnosis or treatment or both for any health related problem or disease. Always seek the advice of a qualified physician for medical diagnosis and treatment.Full Disclaimer